Slowly the Great Bear slipped out from the trees and started moving at leisurely toward us. It was surprising that such a large animal can be hidden in the forest. It looked like an over-sized Kodiak bear. Seven feet at the shoulder, golden brown fur, and over-sized paws. I saw it stop moving and raise its head sniffing. My face paled when I realized it smelt the meat and blood in our camp.

“Fu.fuck!” “What’s a bear doing here!”

“Don’t move” ”Let’s run”

“Run to where? It can run faster than us!”

We talked over each other raising our rifle at the Behemoth. Frank was correct. There are no bears in our area. We didn’t even bother carrying bear spray. The only predators here were only wolves and wolverines.

“Shushh!” Frank looked at me and I put a finger on my lips.

“Back away slowly. Move!” I whispered loudly. My heart was racing and my palms were sweating. Frank nodded his face white as a ghost and we started backing away from the fresh kill paralleling the tree line.

The bear resumed its search still moving slowly. I remembered reading from a book, that the bears had bad eyesight. I just hope it’s still the case with this one.

Think! Brian Think! I looked at Frank and he was staring at the bear. I quickly viewed our options. Fight? I looked at our rifles and rejected the idea. Our rifle’s caliber is great for wolves but not bears. Especially not a Great Bear. It won’t kill it fast enough. There were no bears around here so we neglected to bring precautions for it. Stay still? Stand our ground? not happening. I don’t trust myself to sit tight. Run? Then I remembered gym class. I slowly lowered the rifle and cross shouldered the strap. Frank seeing the movement beside me copied what I did.

“Brian. What are we gonna do?” he whispered furiously to me.

“Frank. Listen. We keep backing away from the meat” I whispered still backing away. Frank nodded slowly still following me. The bear stopped and resumed sniffing and we stopped dead in our tracks. It homed in at the smell and slowly approached the camp. We were about fifty feet away when it saw the bunny's carcass and it quickened its pace. The bear finally found the bunny and it started eating it.

“Move.” I whispered not looking away from the bear and resumed walking slowly. I checked my phone and silently cursed. There was no coverage in this area. I then formulated a plan “We run if it charges at us.” I whisper after a while. The bear was halfway through the bunny eating happily.

“What? Run?” “Shush!”

“Yes, we run. Then we split up” I nodded. I was both excited and afraid at the same time. I quickly explain my plan with frank and if the bear chases us, at least one of us can call for help.

“Okay. Okay. We can do this” Frank nodded jerkily. Psyching himself up.

“Mr. Bonzcrahzer wasn't so bad now right?” I said lightening the mood and failing completely

“What?! Now is not the time dude” an exasperated Frank glared at me.

The bear finished eating the bunny and looked up the meat hanging on the trees it stood up and grabbed bags.

“Keep walking man” We slowly but surely was gaining some distance from the bear. I was getting a little confident that we can escape without the bear noticing us. We angled our path into the trees to shield us from the bear's vision. Just as we were about to vanish from the bear’s view disaster struck.

“Crack!” Frank stepped on a fallen branch and my heart hammered even faster. The bear whipped his head to where the sound was coming from.

“Freeze” we stopped in our tracks praying for the bear to ignore us.

“Oh no.” Frank said horrified and his body was not moving an inch.

“Easy. Easy” I calmed him down. But inside I was about to bolt. It took all my strength to stop me from running. But then the bear stood up and roared a challenge. It was a female. Shit. A female bear was very aggressive if there’s cub nearby. I hoped it wasn’t the cub I saw earlier.

“Please. Please” Frank was now panicking. His leg shaking getting ready to run.

“Don’t move. Stay Calm” I said to steady us. Maybe It will leave to protect her cub.

The bear roared again and dropped down on all four then stayed still. She then charged at us and stopped. She was trying to intimidate us and she was doing a good job.

“Stay...Stay” I said shaking with my nerves shot. C’mon mama bear. Leave. I begged silently.

The bear stood up again and roared but this time it charged at us all the way. My fight or flight instinct finally tripped.

“RUUUUUNNN!!” I shouted and we both ran into the woods splitting up. I saw Frank taking a left weaving through the trees and I ran a different direction. I could use some extra speed about now! Shut up Brian complain to the government later! Whipping branches hit my face stinging me as I passed between trees, but I ignored it and kept running. I saw a fallen tree in front of me and tried jumping over it. I tripped and face planted, but I got up quickly. SHIT!SHIT! I dug deep running as fast as I could, going through bushes not caring if it was poison ivy or full of thorns.

“Crack!”

I looked back and the bear just stamped on the fallen tree with her paw and breaking it like a twig. The bear roared again and I changed direction to avoid going near the cliffs. I looked back again hoping the bear was gone but I saw her following me fifty feet away. I jumped down on a narrow goat trail but I tripped and rolled sliding toward the cliff’s edge. I grabbed at anything I can put my hands on and I was able to grab a vine while falling off the cliff.

I was stopped abruptly hitting the cliff wall with my back. I swayed in the air ten feet below the edge of the cliff holding for dear life. I looked down the dry river bed full of large rocks and I gripped even harder. It’s a long way down maybe about fifteen stories. I could still hear the bear grunting and she was still following me at full speed. The bear was so intent on mauling me that she didn’t see the cliff in time.

The bear tried stopping but her speed and momentum were so great that she slid off the edge directly below me. The bear was clawing the edge for a handhold above me that the claws ripped the vine I was holding onto and we fell together. We both screamed I think. It felt like time slowed when I saw the bear was below me tumbling and I just closed my eyes waiting for it to end.

The bear hit the large stones on the dry river bed on its back and breaking her skull. I landed on top of her slightly sideways my legs first while my arms braced my head like in a fetal position. I felt my bones break even though the bear’s chest cushioned my fall. I tried moving my hand but it won’t move. I opened my eyes and I felt a burning sensation inside my chest. The bear’s breathing rocked me up and down softly until it slowed and stopped. Not long after that my eyes closed and fell asleep.

In my dreams, I was living my life. attended school, played football against pro orcs, and female elves fought for my attention. I was fighting demons with my laser eyes with my pet bear. I thought the bear attack was just a dream. It was quite a good dream considering.

I woke up in a hospital room two weeks later, I was confused which was the dream world and the real one. I realized I was covered in bandages, body cast, and a tube was also running through my nose. I blinked my eyes and tried rubbing my face but my arms didn’t move. I saw my dad sleeping on the couch and I tried calling him, but my mouth didn’t move so all that came out was a little croak. Then I remembered the bear..the cliff..falling... It wasn’t a dream I thought.

Then I realized that this was the real world and I can’t feel my body. I cried. I was paralyzed. Tears were running down my cheeks and I couldn’t even wipe them. I thought of the things I couldn't do anymore like driving, running, and even going to the bathroom. So I laid there silently crying my eyes out. Just let me go back to my dream world, I pleaded with God.

Through the tears, I saw a nurse come into my room and was holding a saline bag. When she was beside the bed to change the bag she saw my open eyes full of tears. Her eyes popped out with her mouth open. She said nothing to me and ran out the room. Even the nurse is scared of you. A mummy crying. I thought bitterly. I can’t help but laugh at the nurse's wide-eyed look. It snapped me out of this crying marathon. You can either laugh or cry. So I took a hold of myself and thankfully the tears stopped falling.

My mom went through the doorway and ran to my bed and she cried. The nurse must have informed her that I was awake. She immediately hugged me. My mom's a short woman and she was having difficulty reaching me. My dad woke up from the commotion. I looked at my mother’s face and I didn’t like what I saw. My mom was a beautiful woman but now she looked old, pale and her blond hair was a mess. I was suddenly guilty for worrying my mom.

”...” "..." I tried to tell my mom I’m okay but I can only hum and grunt.

“Oh, my poor baby! You’re awake” My mom cried in happiness and caressed my cheek wiping away the tears.

”Honey he’s awake!” My mom slid down the bed so my dad could see me. My dad jumped off the couch and I looked at dad. He didn’t change at all. He looked calm and smiled a little. My Dad always seemed so unflappable to me.

“Don’t worry son. It’s gonna be okay” My dad said softly and hugged me gently. Dad and I were not the hugging type so I was a bit embarrassed actually. Thankfully he straightened up and awkwardly squeezed my hand and let go.

“Doc’s gonna fix you up I promise.” He said to me confidently.

“It’s going to be fine” My mom assuring me running her hand across my cast covered chest.

'No, it’s not okay! I’m paralyzed!' I wanted to shout out loud and I was starting to get angry. I understood they were just trying to cheer me up. C’mon! dad! You can’t promise to un-paralyze me! If only my core was activated I could be walking right now. I hate this! What’s the point of having a core if we can’t use it! I thought bitterly. Just one more year! Then I remember something I was looking around the room.

Frank! Oh my God! Is he okay? I thought furiously. This stupid mouth! FRANK! I tried saying the name.

I tried talking but only grunting sounds came out. Maybe he’s hiding trying to surprise me. Where’s that Idiot?

”...” I tried saying Frank’s name again but same as before I can only hum and grunt.

Then I remembered the plan and I slowly relaxed. The plan obviously worked seeing that I’m alive and kicking. Well...Not the kicking part. I thought through the plan in my head. The plan was to split up and head to an old missile silo we discovered a mile away. We found that base while looking for a good hunting spot three years ago. We opened the small hatch on the ground with some WD-50 and elbow grease. It had a tunnel entrance with a ladder going down and it was small enough for us to get inside while keeping the bear out. The first one who reached the hatch was to fire a signal flare and alert Bill who was patrolling the area.

If only they would just stop saying “it’s okay” and gave me the rundown on what happened. I laid there half listening and brooding. I was just angry with everything. Wishing and praying that this was just a bad dream. I was slowly getting tired and my eyes closed before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

I dreamt that the bear was standing in front of me and that I couldn’t move. The bear titled it’s head and gestured me to start running. Thinking that I didn’t understand, it pantomimed a running man and pointed at me. The bear this pushed me gently with her paw to get me going. It was such a funny sight that I woke up smiling inside.

I glanced at the clock and it was already late afternoon. I looked at the couch and Dad was scowling furiously typing into his EPad. Angry Phasebook veteran mode I thought slightly amused. He's wearing his usual getup. Earth-tone cargo pants, white shirt, and a camo jacket. I swept my eyes around the room and realized there was a lot of flowers, get well cards, balloons and some plushie toys. I didn’t know I was popular. I mused. I was looking at the plushies and I stared at a golden brown teddy bear sitting in the middle. It didn’t take long for me to guess who brought that. He’s Alive. That asshole I sighed in relief. Slowly my anger from yesterday started fading.

A few moments later male doctor and my mom came into the room. He was thirtyish in age, lithe body, hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a white lab coat. He was talking with my mom and I did double take when I noticed his pointy ears. He nodded to my dad and extended his hands forward for a handshake. He went beside me and looked at my eyes. He stared for a long time and nodded to himself.

“Cahn you here me Brahyan? My name is Healer Athlon. I am core scientist. Close eyes if yes” The elf said slowly asked in a very low voice. His accent was very thick I thought.

I closed my eyes.

I didn’t know we had an elvish healer. They were pretty rare and can only be found in larger cities. The elves in our large town were mostly artisans and winemakers. I remembered the cheerleader the other day and can’t help sighing. At least they couldn't blame me for staring. That was the only thing I can do now.

“Ghood!” “I know you many of questions but you listen first.” the elf said in broken English waiting for me to respond. It’s not like I got anything better to so, I gave my assent.

I blinked

“Ghood. I good news bad news” the elf doc started as if unfamiliar with the phrase. ”Sorry. Practice English” He apologized. He raised his wrist and tapped his fingers in the air. Wow! Altech!? Cool! I thought instantly amazed at the casual use of the tech. My hope suddenly soared with the possibility of fixing my paralysis when Altech. Maybe that was what my father meant about the doc fixing me.

“Translator is on now” the elf explained after he stopped tapping. ”I have already explained this to your parents.” he said gesturing to them.

”Now the good news.” I held my breath. Please. God. Please. I prayed furiously “Your paralysis is only temporary." "Understand?” He asked.

Did he say Temporary? Temporary!?!YES! I was shocked and happy at the same time. I was so relieved that I cried again. Thankfully my mom wiped the tears off with a tissue and caressed my cheeks. My mom was hugging dad jumping for joy. My dad was just nodding in satisfaction rubbing my mom’s shoulder.

“When the nanite core in your body detected a massive trauma it activated and initiated its emergency life support protocols” The elf doc continued seeing my understanding. Wow. So my core’s active now! This just keeps getting better and better! “Dormant cores does that sometimes” he added.

“The nanites stabilized your internal bleeding first then put you into a coma because your brain was hemorrhaging and relieved the pressure to prevent brain damage” The elf stated pointing at my bandaged head.

“And it also stabilized your broken bones and attempted to fix your spine” the elf continued looking at his notes. “Very lucky!” the elf smiled at me. That’s me. I only roll twenties baby I thought happily.

“That is the reason you are paralyzed” the elf explained slowly gesturing my whole body ”The core suppressed your motor functions to prevent further damage and to stop you from feeling pain”

“If the core was to activate your pain centers” tapping the cast on my leg “Very bad.”the elf added for emphasis. I shuddered at the thought of the pain. This core thing is really cool! I was amazed at what the core can do. I might have walked away from the fall if my core was active at that time. I probably could have gone full UFC with the bear. Stupid age restrictions. Images of me kicking the bear’s ass flashed through my head.

I looked at mom and dad imagined them fighting a bear. A basic core can’t really do that. Thoughts of bear carnage disappeared from my head. You need a lot really expensive mods for a small chance of beating a Great bear and the traders don’t accept dollars.

“Now maybe bad news or maybe neutral news” the elf shrugged. I cringed internally. Don’t tell me I lost something important. I tried staring at my.. ahem.

“Unfortunately the nanite’s supply in your body not was enough to fully stabilize everything especially your spine” I listened to him confused. I thought a core can...

“But first I need you need to understand,” the elf looked me straight in the eyes “A core can only do so much. Even if you had an active core when you fell..” the elf did complete the statement he flicked his wrist and checked his invisible notes before continuing.

“So your core needed to find another source of nanites” I remembered the ziplock baggie full of little cores in my pocket. Thank you bunnies. I’ll stop hunting you this year. I thought in relief.

“So.. your active human core absorbed the active bear core and helped you stabilize completely” He looked at my face with a hint of a smile. ”Very Lucky Indeed” he added.

excuse me?! I blinked furiously